Reflections of the Vessel
The Black Light setting is described as a kind of superpower influenced by a character's mental state or potential. Can you explain what kind of abilities it actually grants?
Q. The Black Light setting is described as a kind of superpower influenced by a character's mental state or potential. Can you explain what kind of abilities it actually grants?
A. It varies depending on which template you chose and how you played. It can also differ based on gender, appearance, or even name.
Compared to that, the actual results of an awakening seem pretty similar no matter who does it—things like strengthening existing skills or improving stats?
Q. Compared to that, the actual results of an awakening seem pretty similar no matter who does it—things like strengthening existing skills or improving stats?
A. Let's say you need to get from neighborhood A to neighborhood B. Is there only one way to get there?
Q. No, there isn't.
A. Awakening works the same way. It could simply mean your strength increases and your attack power rises, or it could mean you gain the ability to wield flames and become stronger through that.
Q. But if you gain the ability to summon a shield, isn't it strange that your attack power increases?
A. Explaining that wouldn't be very sexy, would it?
Q. …….
When you play games, you sometimes see a disconnect between the setting and the actual specs. You defeat a boss who's supposed to rule an entire region with overwhelming might, only for even stronger random mobs to swarm out in the very next chapter. Or your character, who can smash a colossal golem into scrap metal, can't even scratch the wall of a dungeon no matter how many times you punch it.
And Planetarium solved this problem in a very simple way. Rather than invite unnecessary complaints, they just made the explanations themselves deliberately vague and ambiguous.
When you awaken Black Light, you gain some kind of special ability. That special ability then strengthens your skills and stats. So what ability did you awaken, and how exactly does it work? Figure it out and imagine it for yourselves!
Even the awakening process itself is similar. A pitch-black screen plays some bizarre sound effects, then the message [You have overcome the trial and opened your eyes to a new power!] appears as you wake up. That's it. End of story.
Players had all sorts of opinions about it, but honestly, my past self didn't pay much attention to that part. Whether a stat went from 1 to 2 was what mattered. Who cared about the underlying structure? There were already more than enough things to dig into anyway.
If I'd known I'd end up experiencing the awakening event not as a 'game' but as 'reality,' I wouldn't have brushed it off so casually. But now it's just belated regret.
Still, I wasn't too worried. Setting aside my personal trust in Professor Psyche's character, I was confident that the current me—or more precisely, the students taking this class—were considered valuable talents even within the Academy. They wouldn't waste bodies like ours on a light experiment, so it was unlikely they'd run a class that could endanger our lives over a simple mistake.
"Wow, this is interesting. I didn't expect something like this. Extremely fascinating."
So even if some bizarre event occurred that clearly wasn't part of what the Academy had planned, there probably wouldn't be any major problems.
…Right?
"Intervening in another's mental landscape through dreams to artificially trigger an awakening. I had conceptualized it before but gave up because I lacked the means to realize it. To have it proven possible in practice brings me immense joy."
In a landscape where no one around me moved, as if time itself had stopped. A smooth-talking, eloquent… wait, correction. A stone with no tongue to wag yet somehow still running its mouth nonstop. That alone was surreal enough, but the fact that the stone was floating through the air made the whole scene downright bizarre.
Calm down, Chrome Midas. I'd seen a levitating goldfish and a plant-type familiar pretending to be a gravekeeper. In real life, no less. Compared to that, a talking stone appearing in a dream was hardly worth getting worked up over.
"Um, Mr. Stone. May I ask you a question?"
At my words, the stone that had been wandering here and there zipped right up to my nose.
"What is it?"
"What exactly are you?"
"Another version of you."
No. No no no. Don't make me laugh. If it were the starfish-headed king who was suspiciously good at the game, maybe. But I had zero intention of acknowledging a talking rock as another part of my ego.
"Cut the bullshit."
"Wouldn't that be 'cut the stone-shit'?"
"That's not what that means!"
I shouted in exasperation, but the stone remained utterly unfazed. Though honestly, getting worked up over a stone's reaction was ridiculous in itself.
"To be more precise, the power of Myeonggyeong contained within the Star's Vessel intervened to prevent your mind from being shaken by external factors. In the process, 'I' popped out."
"Yeah, but who the hell are you?"
"I don't know either. Most of my memories are incomplete. I borrowed from your memories to fill in all the holes, so calling me another you isn't entirely wrong, is it?"
"Isn't that just called being a parasite?"
"Call it symbiosis. If not for me, you'd be suffering from an utterly horrific nightmare right now. Thanks to me, you get to chat leisurely like this. How grateful should you be? Oh, and don't worry too much. The 'current me' is only a temporary existence that will last until this dream ends. Also, the reason I talk so much is your influence. If I had to guess, the people around you probably feel something similar to what you're feeling right now on a regular basis. So maybe reflect on that a little."
"……."
Was I really this unlucky? No, no way. Absolutely not. How could I trust someone who didn't even know who they were? More importantly—wait a second.
"Huh? Then what about my awakening event?"
"There's no way you'd get the rewards without the battle, now is there? According to your memories, that's what you'd call a thief's mindset."
"But I didn't skip it on purpose!"
How could there be such an unfair thing? If I were the protagonist, wasn't I supposed to awaken some incredible power here? Weren't all those weak days just preparation for a dramatic leap forward?
"But if all the members you've desperately raised and strengthened until now get pushed back by some random one-hit power-up event and lose to a 2.5-tier combatant, wouldn't that be just as infuriating?"
It was depressing that I couldn't deny it. For a mere stone, it had way too much persuasive power.
"If you're upset about wasting time, why not support your comrades instead?"
"…How?"
"Turn around."
I did as instructed and turned. The moment I saw the scene before me, I instinctively stepped back. Dozens of mirrors had appeared at some point, proudly displaying their presence. Most of them were painted pitch black, reflecting nothing, but some showed blurry images like videos. I picked the clearest one and stared at it intently, muttering without thinking.
"Ligret?"
Inside the rectangular mirror, Ligret and someone who looked remarkably like her were enthusiastically hacking away at each other. Swinging swords, smashing with hammers, throwing knives—damn, it was brutally savage. And yet her eyes were sparkling with excitement. She looked like she was having the time of her life.
"What is this?"
"These are the appearances of those currently close enough to be affected by the Vessel's power while simultaneously dreaming. Additionally, the clearer the image, the higher their trust and affection toward you. Even if it's not as clear as that girl over there, if it's recognizable at all, it means they trust you to some degree regardless."
I pulled my gaze away from Ligret's mirror and looked at the others nearby. Inside a mirror with equally crisp resolution, Fiore was putting on a show that rivaled any sci-fi movie with dazzling visuals. But not everyone possessed the steel mentality of Ligret or Fiore.
-Crow, desperately trying to cut through the bloody masses blocking his path but unable to advance, forced to watch his older brother die in the distance.
-Rabaul, surrounded by countless books in a library, yet every single page is painted pitch black so he can't read anything.
-Pino, encountering an overwhelming monster in the forest and trying to flee, but frozen in place by the screams and shrieks coming from behind her.
"……. Hmm."
"You can rest easy. The butterfly professor outside is quite reliable in that regard. Whether they succeed or fail, a dream is just a dream. Once they wake up, they'll forget it, so there won't be any aftereffects."
"Well, that's a relief."
I spoke while gazing at one mirror in particular that boasted an especially ornate design. The others were one thing, but if the person in question remembered this, it would probably trigger a second season of the Lake of Wisdom incident. Maybe even worse.
"But what do you mean by support? What am I supposed to do?"
"If the contents are completely unrecognizable, there's no way to interfere. But on the other hand, if they've opened their hearts to you enough that you can distinguish the contents, then speaking to them should be possible. Isn't running your mouth your specialty?"
"Hey, what do you take me for?"
I snorted, then added,
"Still… it does sound kind of fun."
Sorry in advance for arbitrarily interfering with the class again, Professor Psyche. But a support board has been set up. In that case, I have no choice but to go all in.
Kuhahaha.